Dreams of Starlight
by Wind-Struck-Warrior
Summary: He remembered who he was before the car hit. Or, when a close friend dies, Serafall takes in her son. And young Sorata is not who he was before the accident. In the aftermath, nothing remains the same; not even his name. SIOC! Bi-Harem! OC-Centric! Deuteragonist-Issei!
1. Arc I - Beginnings I

"Help! Somebody! Help!"

He didn't need to say that the last thing that he had expected to see was not what he actually saw. It never was. But his whole life, Himura Sorata had led a tranquil lifestyle free of turmoil and now, at thirteen, his life was ending in a way that he never thought it would. He had expected to go out easily, fading in his sleep like he remembered his Mizu-baa had. He had never expected that his first vacation with his mother, Hitomi, would lead to his demise. But nobody ever expects cars veering off the road.

So, there he was. A bloodied child on the back streets of Paris; surrounded by screaming people trying to get someone to do something but not trying to do anything themselves, scraps of ruined metals and the beginnings of flame.

Himura Hitomi was already dead. She'd been killed on impact – as soon as the car had pushed them into that building, Sorata had known that she wouldn't last. He couldn't even hear her breathing anymore; the arms of her corpse still wrapped around Sorata protectively, but her chest was no longer pulsing with breath. His own was starting to fade, his chest expanding shallowly as he started to lose his hold on his consciousness. Even if Hitomi had intervened to protect him somewhat, it wasn't much – there wasn't much she could have done anyway.

He was just about to close his eyes when suddenly, the piece of the car trapping him and Hitomi to the side of the building was pulled away.

A woman was standing in the empty space, a dark-haired woman dressed in an obscene outfit reminiscent of a magical girl uniform. Her dark hair was pulled up into twin tails and tied off with red ribbons. For a second, Sorata thought that she looked a little familiar.

Her lips curved downwards in a frown, "I was too late, huh?" She questioned, pulling Hitomi off the trembling boy and into her arms. "Oh, Tomi-tan… Sorata?" She angled her gaze to the boy, who was desperately trying to hold on.

"You're alive at least, probably not for long." She mused and brushed a hand through his hair. Sorata somehow managed to strength to flinch, but she pulled him into her arms anyway. "Hitomi never wanted this for you."

Sorata's eyes began to close, but he could see a faint red glow emanating from a chess piece she was pressing to his chest. "Don't worry, Sorata… I won't let you die."

And yet, Himura Sorata did.

Seconds later, Kanzaki Hitoshi woke.

* * *

In my last life, my name had been Kanzaki Hitoshi. And I could honestly say that the last thing I expected was resurrection.

I had lived a simple life of seventeen years. I was born in Japan, Tokyo to be exact; but my mother, Kaede, had eventually taken us to Kyoto. We spent my childhood taking trips to the countryside to visit my grandmother, who taught me to draw. My uncle Asa was the one who introduced me to anime when I was ten; and after that, I was hooked. Kaa-san was the one who made sure that no matter what, I knew that I was to always act as myself, right up until the day that I died. A bank robbery – I was there with Kaa-san and Asa-oji to open up my own account. It ended when they decided that they didn't need hostages anymore; I was the third one they shot. The fourth one dead – after Kaa-san started screaming at them and they got tired of her.

That should have been the end of it. I wasn't particularly religious, but I thought that I'd go up to Heaven; Kaa-san would be there and maybe even Tou-san. The man that I'd never met. He'd died after Kaa-san was pregnant; a car accident.

But I had only spent a few minutes in the darkness. The Void. I could hear echoes of Kaa-san screaming; but then I wasn't there anymore, and instead – the world was bright. I was buried in the softest sheets that I'd ever known; in a room decorated with a bizarre patchwork quilt of personalities that had the room looking like it belonged to a crazy person. Magical girl posters and strange trinkets and pictures of a dark-haired girl in glasses lined the walls. But the room held a certain richness to it; especially in the way the bed frame seemed to be lined with _gold_.

Who lines a bed frame with gold!?

And then, I heard humming – and things got even stranger. There was a voice whispering into my ear and I suddenly realised that my head wasn't actually in a pillow, but rather a woman's lap. An oddly familiar woman dressed up like a magical girl who was now leaning over my face. A girl who smiled stopped humming the theme song to Sailor Moon and then talked even louder. All without moving her lips. She grinned, ran a hand through my hair and said. [Oh, Ra-tan! He's awake!]

Needless to say, the first thing that I did was scream. Which didn't actually seem to both her that much because she didn't even flinch when I shot up out of her lap like a meth addict on a high and jumped off the bed in a frenzy. "W-Who are you!? Where am I? WHY THE HELL CAN I HEAR YOU!?" She actually blinked at that, tilted her head to the side. The whispers began to amplify a little.

And then, she talked. [He can hear me?]

"Stop it!" I yelled, "Who are you!?"

She merely let her head fall to the side again. [He doesn't remember me? Ra-tannnnn! The accident must have hurt you so bad!] Again, her lips didn't move – but I could still hear her voice. It was louder now. And suddenly, I felt sad. Really sad – almost like I was about to burst into tears.

"Why the hell can I hear you?" I demanded, hoping that I sounded even a little threatening to her. Kaa-san had always said that I never managed to scare her; mostly in part due to the fact that in my last life I looked a little bit like a girl. But Baa-chan had said a few times that I actually scared her when I got mad; so really, who knew? Hopefully this… weird magical girl was a little more like Baa-chan that Kaa-san. "And for God's sake–!" I flinched; why did that hurt? "Who. Are. You."

She winked, "Well, I have some suspicions!" She sang, actually talking out loud at that point. Her eyes were angled down to look at my hands, but the only thing there was a golden hoop bracelet, decorated with bizarre engravements; which I definitely had _not_ been wearing when I went to the back with Kaa-san. "And you really don't remember me, Ra-tan? Tomi-tan and I were great friends – I met you a lot when you were little! Ah! You were so cute~"

The woman paused and bent in a little closer. Suddenly, an image flashed across my mind – a brunette woman with green eyes. "…Um, who is Tomi-tan?"

She froze, bent in a little closer, so she was even closer to my face. I, in turn, took a cautious step away from her. She was really, just _way_ too energetic for me. "Tomi-tan is my name for your _mother_, Ra-tan; you remember? Y'know, Hi_tomi_, Tomi-tan. It's a nickname, Ra-tan!"

My mother's name was Kaede. Not Hitomi. "Who is that?"

The woman paused, pursing her lips. _Somehow_, I just knew that she confused – and suddenly, even I was a little confused. Still sad but confused as well. I could hear her talking about a woman and seeing that same brunette; holding a baby in her arms. "Hitomi is your mother, Ra-tan. Do you… do you really not remember her?" She asked softly.

I managed to shake my head no, despite the harsh wave of confusion that was pinning me to the back wall of her room. "What, uh; what do you remember, Ra-tan?" She asked, finally standing from the bed. "Can you – tell me your name, maybe?"

"Kanzaki." She recoiled. "Kanzaki Hitoshi."

There was a brief, white-hot flash of rage that had my legs quivering. "That isn't your name, Ra-tan." She pressed, taking another step towards me; her face flushing with anger. "Your name is Sorata, Ra-tan. Himura Sorata. That's – that's your name, Ra-tan. _Remember?_"

"N-no." I cursed at myself for stuttering, but that white-hot rage was _terrifying_. "My name's Hitoshi. Hitoshi!" I spun, refusing to look at her any longer, preoccupying myself with searching for a door instead. Only instead of a door, I found a full-length mirror was in front of me. And the person that was reflected back int that mirror was _not_ Kanzaki Hitoshi.

Hitoshi, _I_, had dark hair. It was black with a slight sheen to keep it lighter, and I'd grown it out over the years and pulled it back into a short ponytail. My eyes had been blue too. The person I now _apparently_ was, a boy supposedly named Himura Sorata, wasn't seventeen. He looked like a pre-teen, maybe eleven, with light brown hair and a bloody _cowlick_ protruding from the top of his head. His eyes were green too. A really, _really_ rich green. Like emeralds. They were pretty – but they weren't my eyes. They were _not_ my eyes.

And behind me, in that mirror, the woman was shaking her head. [What happened to you, Ra-tan?] Her lips weren't moving again – _why could I hear her!?_ "Ne, Ra-tan." That wasn't my name. That's not my name. It's not! "Do you remember _my_ name?"

I huffed, looking away from her. "No. That's what I've been _trying_ to tell you." She was sad again after that. The woman she'd been thinking about, _Sorata's mother_, not mine, was flashing through her mind again. They were obviously close. "Who are you? And for God's sake-!" I ignored the sharp flash of pain that arched through my mind. "Why can I hear you when you _aren't_ talking!?" This was _not_ normal and none of it made sense – I'm seventeen, not a pre-teen!

She giggled, twirling in place and pulling a wand to complete her outfit out of nowhere, "The name is Serafall Leviathan!" No. Nononono-! "But you can call me Sera-tan, Ra-tan!"

_No_.

Serafall Leviathan, current Leviathan of the Four Great Satans and self-proclaimed magical girl with the ability to bring on the next ice age. The strongest female devil. And a bloody _fictional_ character. Fictional as in – she should _not_ exist. I was pretty close to hyperventilating at that point, considering I had somehow become another person and was now standing in front of one of the most ridiculous anime characters of an anime I had barely seen. Highschool DxD wasn't my first choice – I'd only sporadically seen it; and read random pieces of information about the universe that intrigued me. The Longinus mainly.

It was every pervert's dream world, and I wouldn't be the first to say that some part of me hadn't wished for something like this, but… still. _I wasn't Himura Sorata._

Serafall smiled weakly, [Oh, Sorata.] She thought quietly and took another step forward so she could wrap her arms around me. Too stunned to actually resist, I just let it happen – and she pressed my head into her sizeable cleavage. Because of _course_ – stupid DxD. "Y'know, that bracelet on your wrist isn't just any normal bracelet. It's a Sacred Gear, I think." She theorised. "And, probably something to do with you hearing me – it certainly looks like one I've seen before. See how the glyphs on it are kind of sparkling?"

My gaze flitted down to the bracelet, and sure enough, the symbols on it were a little brighter. "What's it doing?"

[What do you think?]

I paused. Telepathy? "I can hear your thoughts?"

Serafall brightened and nodded sharply, "Yeah. I've seen that Sacred Gear before – it was something I'd come across back in the Great War. It's name is [Illuminate Psyche] although I've heard it's been called the [Golden Ring of Promise] sometimes. The way it's working right now has established a link between us so you can hear my thoughts and feel my emotions." I mean… that certainly explains things. All of those overwhelming feelings must have been Serafall – and stop feeling pity for me! "But it doesn't seem like you can hear me! So it must be a one-way thing!"

"I'm sure that this is a lot for you to take in, Ra-tan." Serafall put a hand on my shoulder and rubbed at it carefully. "But don't worry, Sorata, I'll help you out!"

"…My name is Sorata?" I asked quietly, just for confirmation.

She nodded, tightening her grasp around me and resting her chin on my shoulder. "Un. Himura Sorata."

Oh, God – ah! Wait… "Um, Serafall-san… am I – it hurts; when I think about God." There was like a ninety percent chance that I was a Devil now. Which meant, oh crap…

"You're a Devil like me!" She brightened, suddenly surrounded by an almost oppressive aura of rainbows, sunshine and ribbons, which made no sense – but she seemed happy, now. Overwhelmingly so if the joy that I was feeling now as any indication – and if she was really the Leviathan, then I should probably make sure that she stays that way. The original Serafall Leviathan could probably freeze me just by blinking, so… yeah. "Now, Ra-tan. This may be a little hard for you to hear – but you died." Yeah, I knew that Serafall. But it was nice to know that this 'Sorata' did as well. "And I had to do something to keep you alive; to make sure that I fulfilled my promise to Tomi-tan."

She grinned, [Magic is real – which is why you can hear me. And so are Devils and Angels and Fallen Angels and a whole bunch of other things! The supernatural is real, Ra-tan, and I'm part of one of the big three; the Devil Faction.]

And the other two were the Angels and Fallen Angels, right? "So, um… I'm a Devil? I guess that explains why every time that I think about God I – it hurts." I said simply because it did. Which was more than a little annoying because that stupid saying was stuck in my head and oh God – ow – I can never think about it again because it _hurts_. "H-How did I die, then?"

"Car accident," Serafall said soothingly, taking a step back from me and sitting back down on the edge of the bed – presumably hers. The room was filled with so much magical girl memorabilia, baby photos of a girl that was probably Sona and other random crap, that it could only belong to someone as out there as Serafall Leviathan. The woman could destroy the world if she wanted to, and she probably would if they cancelled her favourite show. "You were bleeding out, but I rescued you and resurrected you – you're my servant now, Ra-tan!"

Great. Servitude. _Juuuust_ great.

[Don't worry, though, Ra-tan; I'll do my best to make sure that you never feel like you're a servant, y'know. You're family!] She somehow managed to stress her thoughts.

"And, you, uh – resurrected me how?"

Serafall hummed and bent back in so she could wrap her arms around me and then wrench me to her chest, so I was sitting firmly in her lap and being treated like a teddy bear. "There's something that we call the Evil Pieces, Sora-tan. They're what we use to resurrect other races and normal humans like you, into proper Devils." Good to know that I at least _used_ to be a proper human. I don't know if I could handle being a bloody Yōkai. "They're modelled after chess pieces – y'know, the King, Queen, Rook, Knight, Bishop and Pawns. Every piece gets assigned to a member of a Devil's Peerage and that piece takes on certain attributes~"

She was singing again. Really, did she _have_ to sing everything? It was like talking to a little girl on a sugar rush/ "So… what am I?"

"I'll get to that." She cut me off with a sharp shake of the head. "I'll go into the attributes first – the [Rook] is meant to be the shield; those resurrected with them gain enhanced strength and defense. The [Knight] gains enhanced speed but they don't have much defense so they tend to be weapon specialists to compensate for that, and a [Bishop] will tend to be just that, the magicians. Their magical power is enhanced – and then the [Queen] gets the power of all of those pieces; to a lesser extent. The [Pawn] remains the same but can promote with the King's permission and take on the attributes of any other piece."

I'd really prefer to be a [Queen] like any reasonable person would, I suppose. After that… enhanced strength maybe; so maybe a [Rook].

[And you're a [Bishop] now.] Serafall grinned, patting my head a little condescendingly. [You're my _only _[Bishop] too!]

"I'm a [Bishop]." I suppose I could live with that, "But, uh – your only [Bishop]? What does that mean?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Serafall grinned, patting my head. "You see, different people are worth more than others. And that means that to resurrect some people you may need to you more pieces. A single [Pawn] is worth one. [Bishops] and [Knights] are each worth three pieces but the [Rook] takes up five. And then the [Queen] is nine. You're probably worth about five pieces. Ra-tan – because of your Sacred Gear. So, I had to use two of my [Bishops] to resurrect you. And I only have two so you're the only [Bishop] I can have~"

And so, now that I'd gotten that little thing out of the way; there was really only one thing left for me to ask. "…Why?"

"Why, what?" She blinked. She felt confused – probably understandable.

"Why did you resurrect me?" It was a fair question; someone like Serafall probably had more power than she knew what to do with it, and she probably didn't need members of her Peerage to be _weak_. And considering that I was probably _not_ that strong, it didn't really seem like it was actually worth it for her. I was supposedly a normal human; just with a Sacred Gear. That was the only distinction. Which meant… "What did you owe her? Hitomi?" The woman who was _apparently_ my mother.

Her eyes darkened dangerously, "I owed her _nothing_, Sorata." Crap. She'd dropped the -tan. "She was my _friend_."

Serafall sighed, [And you're worth it, Sora-tan. For that gear alone…]She thought and evading my inquiring gaze. "And since I am the Maou of Foreign Affairs, you _need_ to look strong. You're going to be one of my diplomats, so, you need enough pieces to convince other factions that your word carries the weight attached to my name. Two pieces will bring you more respect – otherwise, you might just end up being treated like a butler, since you're not very strong." She said flatly.

Well, that stung a little. "Don't worry – it's likely that you won't be very physically strong ever. You're going to be a magical powerhouse eventually and your Telepathy is going to come in _real_ handy when I make you one of my diplomats." She chuckled devilishly; which actually made a lot of sense. If I could master, it then I would be insanely useful in such a setting – especially considering I had essentially become a walking lie detector. Probably one of the reasons Serafall actually revived me. For her role, that kind of thing would be priceless.

"I guess, thank you then, Leviathan-sama."

Serafall pouted, "Mou – you should never call me that." She winked, "Call me Sera-tan! We're family now!"

"…No."

Her eyes darkened, "Say it with me, Se-ra-ta-n~" She sang, but there was a look in her eyes that promised pain, which only seemed to be amplified when she saw how I simply remained silent. "Ra-tan…"

"How about Sera?" I suggested, not entirely comfortable with being so 'cutesy.' "For now, at least."

The Leviathan huffed, but she nodded slowly. "I suppose that's fine…" She suddenly brightened, "Great! Now that that's settled, come on Ra-tan!" She jumped onto her feet, latched onto my hand and started pulling me along behind her to the door.

"W-Where are we going, Sera?"

She looked over her shoulder and shot the brightest smile that I've ever seen at me, "To adventure, Sora-tan! To _adventure_!"

* * *

**A/N - So, this is my new story; a ressurection set in DxD. Harem of course; it's DxD. But I decided to do something a little new and this is going to be a Bi-Harem. Haven't seen too many of them and I couldn't settle on genderflipping or reducing the harem. And as a note - this is going to be a small harem. New additions could be added - but for the moment there are three members that I'm sure about and two to three that are maybes.**

**Also, fair warning, this story will eventually feature Sorata, my OC, as a High-Class Devil so he'll have a peerage which I'll gradually reveal. Suggestions are welcomed but certain slots are already filled. Otherwise, enjoy - you'll get the next chapter soon. And please - no flames! I don't have much experience writing but I'm doing my best.**

**The Sacred Gear is an original creation and because of the necessity for telepathy all thoughts communicated other than Sorata's are in [].**

**Harem: Vali Lucifer, Valerie Tepes, Xenovia Quarta.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD, only any original characters - otherwise, all rights belong to their respective owners.**


	2. Arc I - Beginnings II

For the first year of my apparent resurrection; things were pretty quiet. I became, in all sense of the word, Himura Sorata, mostly out of necessity – Sera had nearly thrown me to her [Knight] the last time I'd called myself Hitoshi. And as a result, Kanzaki Hitoshi slowly faded from existence.

I was, for all points and purposes, only Himura Sorata; the [Bishop] of Leviathan, a boy who had inherited the memories of Kanzaki Hitoshi.

But, for the most part; things were certainly calm around the Leviathan territory, where Sera had essentially isolated me from the rest of the world. She was adamant about not revealing my existence to the public, not until I could at least protect myself adequately. She claimed that it was for my protection, but at this point, I was pretty sure that it was actually just for her peace of mind. Sera was an extremely overprotective woman. That said, essentially confining me to isolation for twelve months was a bit overboard – and she spent those twelves months ensuring that I wouldn't be a liability. For her, that meant that she needed to get my magic up to par; and that I needed to start my diplomacy training. As the leader of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sera's Peerage had certain responsibilities to be fulfilled. She had made it very clear to me that I was expected to eventually become a diplomat. So, Sera spearheaded my magical and diplomatic training but left the physical training to a member of her Peerage – the only one I'd actually met, the [Knight], Behemoth. The giant elephant-like creature of Hebrew Myth who could apparently break the sound barrier. I'd had nightmares for _months_.

Not from his appearance of course – simply from the pure hell that he called training. He was actually very visually pleasing, no doubt in part to Sera; who apparently wanted her Peerage to be 'family-friendly.' She had already forced me into numerous magical girl outfits over the course of the year – team uniforms, she called them. She'd forced _Behemoth_ into one. Which had actually helped me deal with him; you don't exactly see a giant like Behemoth being scolded for not wanting to wear magical girl cosplay and stay afraid of him. Especially when someone like Sera decides to force him into it. Which actually wasn't that hard; she was the strongest female devil for a reason – he'd actually had to beg for mercy that day.

But that being said, life was good. Simple. Calm. As much as I was struggling to be a devil, and oh, I wished I was still human sometimes – Sera let me paint. She let me go to the forest. It wasn't as though I was prisoner, I just… didn't have much company aside from her and Behemoth.

Which was why it had been so hard to get a proper reading on the progress of the story. But eventually, I managed it. It wasn't _that_ hard to get Sera squealing stories about Sona; so, it had been easy for me to learn that I was Issei's age; which gave me four years – now three, till canon. I was fourteen now, but if Sera had it her way then I would be in Kuoh in two years to get an eye on Sona for her. Who I had yet to meet because Sera was _that_ protective. And sometimes, her training was worse than Behemoth.

So naturally, when Sera decided that my early diplomatic training was complete, and she wanted me to go with her as backup for an outing; I readily took the chance to be around people again.

And it didn't really hurt that Sera wanted me to go with her on a trip to visit the Tepes Clan of Vampires – the same clan, whose heiress was the current wielder of something I'd had my eye on for quite a while. [Sephirot Graal]. A _Longinus_. Which meant that it was probably time I started making waves – after all, I figured out early on that my very existence would probably be toxic to the canon timeline and keeping everything the same would be impossible. Especially since Sera intended to enrol me at Kuoh to keep an eye on Sona. I had tried getting out of it – but Sera was adamant.

Which was how Sera and I had ended up seated at a table with Vladimir Tepes, Valerie's father, and apparently a guy who _really_ hated Sera. Not that that was surprising, she was maddening at her best.

Vladimir himself was the very definition of a handsome aristocrat, so much so that it actually took me a moment to reconcile with the fact that people this attractive actually exist. But then again, Sera was gorgeous. The pictures I'd seen of Rias and Sona showed me that _they_ were gorgeous. And just about anyone who wasn't human was immediately, without question, drop-dead _gorgeous_. Because DxD. Fucking harem anime.

The room he'd led us to was a sort of sitting room, and we had gathered around a central table. On our side, Sera and I had been served two glasses of water – while Vladimir had been given a fresh glass of blood. The servant he'd called in had immediately left. I had nearly recoiled at the sight, before remembering that they were vampires – so it was probably normal. And Sera's first lesson in diplomacy was to remain calm, so I was forcing myself to be indifferent. Using [Illuminate Psyche] to sync my emotions with Sera certainly helped.

Lord Tepes took a sip of blood and cleared his throat, "So, it is to my knowledge that you intend to discuss a non-aggression pact, Leviathan?"

Sera nodded, "Yes. Of course." She was strangely serious – so much so that it was kind of terrifying. My only comfort was that somehow, she was still occupied with obsessive thoughts of her precious So-tan. She always sort of had her at the foreground of her mind.

"And you decided to bring a child to a meeting like this?" He was obviously unimpressed, not that I could blame him. I was pretty short for my age, and generally a little feminine. Not very intimidating.

I cleared my throat and bowed my head in a show of respect, "Forgive the intrusion, Lord Tepes. My name is Sorata Himura, I serve as Leviathan-sama's [Bishop.] I just recently finished my diplomacy training and she believed that I could use some experience."

"He is more than qualified to be here," Sera revealed, a hint of pride almost overwhelming me and forcing me to break off the link. I was still getting used to having someone's emotions forced on me, and I doubted I ever would be perfectly equipped to deal with it. But I was able to mitigate the damage to my brain, to a degree. "And my dear Ra-tan is more than useful in this kind of setting."

"How so?" Vladimir inquired, looking over me slowly. My wrist was hidden beneath the table, for now, so he couldn't see my Sacred Gear. But once I forced the link, he seemed to notice the shift in my presence. [Have the standards of the Devils really fallen so low?]

He was doubting me – which meant that he was doubting Sera; which we couldn't have. "Ask me something about yourself that I wouldn't know." I offered.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously, [What is his game, here?] He thought. "Such as what, child?"

"Perhaps that daughter of yours?" I suggested with a small smirk, "The dhampir?" He froze, and even Sera was looking at me with a little bit of a 'what the hell are you doing' look so I reopened the link to access her surface thoughts.

[I hope you know what you're doing Ra-tan, we _need_ this alliance.] She stressed, [Tread carefully. We can't afford to anger Vladimir.]

I cleared my throat and cut myself off from Sera again, "Her name is Valerie, correct? She currently holds something that might be of interest to you, Leviathan-sama." The woman perked up, even as Vladimir's gaze darkened dangerously.

Sera shot me a warning look, "You do not know of what you speak, child." Vladimir threated. [A Sacred Gear, perhaps?]

I quirked a brow, mildly impressed that he had already figured it out. "You think that I don't know of the Holy Grail?" A flash of rage swept over him, but I managed to force it down effortlessly. It was nothing compared to Sera. "Or would you prefer that I call it [Sephirot Graal]?"

My master shot me a dark look and I nodded quickly. Vladimir's grip around the stem of his wine glass tightened, right up until the point where the glass could take it no more and it splintered – sending blood and shards of glass tumbling to the ground. "Ah, the glass broke," Sera commented dryly. "You see, my [Bishop] here holds a Sacred Gear – [Illuminate Psyche]," she explained, and I took the chance to lift my arm and reveal the bangle hanging around my wrist. "We've recently come to learn that he's got a certain talent for probing minds for information." Only after months of Sera throwing me into crowded marketplaces – in disguise, of course – full of people she'd forced me to link with. I'd managed to single out one and then probe past their surface thoughts into the subconscious. Memories too. It took a lot out of me and I was essentially dead weight while I did it – but it was a useful skill. Just not combat-ready.

"So," Vladimir drawled once he'd regained his composure; although probing past that initial layer of calm revealed a deep, seething rage. I had no doubts that he wanted to rip off my head. "You come into my halls. You bring a child – and then have that child reveal information as sensitive as my daughter's Longinus?" He snapped. "Men have started wars for less, Leviathan and be sure that I would do the same."

Her joy dropped and Sera looked at the man in a whole new light. Perhaps I'd made a mistake… "Well, Lord Tepes. Perhaps we could come to a mutually beneficially arrangement. Now that you understand why the Devil Faction wanted my Ra-tan here, what do you want to have him stay?"

"You think that I would be foolish enough to allow a mind walker in my halls?" He growled. "That we would let him stay without cause – prove what he is worth, Leviathan. Show me what the Devils believe we of the Tepes Clan deserves." He snapped his fingers and summoned one of his servants, a vampire who quickly busied himself with unrolling a parchment for Sera and I to read and then immediately left. Three demands were outlined on the antique paper; demands that Vladimir had likely prepared for this kind of scenario.

He hummed and accepted a new glass of blood. "We have some demands – perhaps you could start by meeting one of them for your little slave."

The first of the three listed was for the price of Phenex Tears to be lowered. Reasonable, but given that they were the property of the House of Phenex, Sera had no hand in their trade. The second item was joint control of the Familiar Forest territory, and the third was the sale of numerous magical texts to the Tepes Clan that I was fairly sure were extremely rare and likely expensive as a result. Really, none of the three; save perhaps the third would be an option available to Sera. Which likely meant that I would be banished from the halls of the Tepes Domain soon enough.

"Perhaps we can reach a compromise," Sera cut in carefully, having looked over her options and decided that none of them were for her. Apparently, she had a plan, but she had long since ordered me never to delve past her surface thoughts without her permission, so I was forbidden from properly reading her. "Phenex Tears are the exclusive property of the Phenex Family, and as such, they are out of the question. However, if you are interested in healing, my family, the House of Sitri, is known for our inclination towards healing among other things. I will personally ensure the Tepes Faction access to our medical facilities to start."

Vladimir hummed, "No. I think not."

"And why not," Sera returned, a quick wave of irritation flashing over her. "For my servant's mere presence in this meeting – shouldn't such a thing be enough?"

"We are quite capable of healing our own here – in our halls." He reminded her, "We do specialise in such things as _blood_ magic, it would be strange if we did not know the more beneficial aspects of our craft. Healing for example. Choose, Leviathan. My patience is wearing thin."

I sighed; this was getting nowhere. Sera was stubborn enough that she would continue negotiating for me to be here and Vladimir was stubborn enough to continue asking for more until he was satisfied. "Allow me to make a suggestion if you would be pleased, Lord Tepes?"

His eyes darkened, "You allow your servants to speak on behalf of the Underworld?"

"Actually, seeing as this is my presence we are negotiating to allow; really, this is me offering up my services to you, Lord Tepes." I cut Sera off before she could interfere. She had been about to suggest punishments, and Sera's punishments were _always_ terrifying. "Sera. Will you allow me to speak?" I questioned her, silently asking if she trusted me. She nodded once and ultimately allowed me to return my attention to Vladimir.

The man looked mostly amused at this point; as if my having the audacity to question him was tantamount to him humouring a child asking for candy. "You think that you have more to offer than your master? Let me hear it then, Mind Walker. But be careful – I _will not show mercy._"

I gulped, because the leaked killing intent from this man was more terrifying than anything I'd ever felt, and I would really like to stop angering important people. "I am currently aware of Valerie's affliction. Specifically, the damage to her mind."

"Speak quickly." He darkened, "Or I shall cut off your head, Mind Walker."

"You cannot heal her. No amount of skill can heal her because the wound was not dealt to her body – and you cannot afford to appear weak to your subordinates, so you have yet to attempt to hire an outside healer." Vladimir was near shaking with rage, which I could honestly understand. I would be angry if someone was reading _my_ mind, as well. "After all, your daughter is a dhampir, simply a _half breed_; she isn't worth the time. A waste of royal blood some may say."

Sure enough, Lord Tepes' eyes narrowed in warning. "Tread carefully, Mind Walker."

"But… you do care." He flinched. "If you didn't then you wouldn't be reacting as though you intended to risk war by killing me for speaking of her. You feel rage, Lord Tepes… it is only understandable." I assured him, "So, entrust her to us for the time being."

"_What!?_"

"I can help her," I informed him quickly; well aware that he was about to rip my head off. Sera, on the other hand, was leaking demonic magic in spades to calm him; the area around her freezing simply because of her demonic pressure. In such a room, where two people as powerful as them were both threatening each other; it was honestly getting a little hard to breathe. "I can provide constant maintenance to her mind to keep her stable, and eventually; I may be able to cure her altogether. You know, as a Mind Walker. Lord Tepes, this is your chance to help her." Delving into the mind was a potentially dangerous task, but it could be done. I'd entered Sera's mindscape once before – and immediately regretted it. The more… questionable images of Sona were still seared into my skull.

Thankfully, it seemed as though that was enough to calm him because he leant back into his chair and _hadn't_ snapped his glass this time. "And if I refuse?"

"Then I will leave your halls." I returned, "And Valerie Tepes will live in a purist, misogynistic society until the day she inevitably wastes away. You will watch your daughter's mind as it is destroyed by itself; incapable of asking for help because of your own pride. You will destroy any goodwill between the devils and your faction and ultimately, I believe that my lady Sera here will kill you herself." Said magical girl grinned brightly. "So, Lord Tepes, what will it be; will you banish me, or will your daughter _live_?"

Vladimir paused, and ultimately let out a low sigh. He seemed resigned, "Perhaps you have indeed chosen a good servant, Leviathan. I think it is time we discussed peace. But before that… I must inform you of Valerie's condition."

"Don't worry, Lord Tepes," Sera assured him. "I will ensure that the Sitri will personally heal Valerie as well – and she will be under my protection at all times."

The lord shook his head, "No… that is not what I mean."

"[Sephirot Graal] is not just one Holy Grail, Sera." I explained for the man, who looked far too weary to actually talk about it. "Rather, the Longinus has entered a sort of mutation and now consists of three cups. And one of them was stolen."

Her eyes sharpened, "By whom?"

Vladimir snarled, "_Rizevim Lucifer._"

* * *

At this point in the timeline, Valerie was about sixteen years old – three more than me. And she was essentially a vegetable. Her eyes had been on me the minute that Vladimir had taken Sera and I into her chambers, but she hadn't actually seemed to recognise that we were actually there with her. And as it turned out, losing one of the cups of [Sephirot Graal] hadn't done much to her, it was only when she began to overuse it that she lost her mind – according to Vladimir anyway. Really, it fractured. Without the third piece to stabilise it, it simply rearranged her mind until things just didn't work anymore.

It wasn't actually that hard to fix – I just needed to delve into her mindscape and put it all back in order. Granted, what had felt like thirty minutes of work had apparently been closer to seven hours – but by the end of it, Valerie was… fixed.

Hopefully, it was a permanent fix, but I didn't doubt that she'd eventually need some help later on down the road. Which was the whole reason that Vladimir had even bothered to entrust her to me anyway; I was probably the only one who could rearrange her mind after she used her Longinus unless someone else had my Sacred Gear. Vladimir had been overjoyed by her ability to actually _talk_ to him and from there, his negotiations with Sera had been a lot easier to handle. Not surprising since I'd just given him his daughter back – people were easier to negotiate with when they'd just gotten their heart's desire. Sera and I had actually managed to sign up a proper treaty and not a simple non-aggression pact. And after that, we'd left with a communicator so I could give him updates on Valerie's progress; considering I was now essentially her nurse.

Not that there was anything wrong with having Valerie hanging off my arm like a leech; she was just as gorgeous as her father. Lustrous blonde hair and gorgeous red eyes and supple, smooth skin. And of course, I now had primary access to a Longinus. _Score_.

That said, the way that Valerie kept on looking at me as Sera and I took her back with us to Sera's domain – via the train – was seriously starting to freak me out. Sera was oddly quiet, still bothered by the revelation that Rizevim Lucifer had access to a piece of a Longinus. She would no doubt be contacting Sirzechs at some point – which probably meant that it was about time for me to get exposed to the public. She couldn't exactly tell Sirzechs about how she came across the information without telling him about me. And Sirzechs was apparently a bit of a blabbermouth.

"Valerie," I prodded the girl; who was firmly attached to my side. Her arms were wrapped around my left bicep and her chest was pressing into my side; which was embarrassing in itself. "You okay?"

Sera chuckled, her tone all too cheerful and a little mocking. [Ra-tan, you said that you'd be looking after her. You all but told Vla-tan that you'd be waiting on his daughter hand and foot.] She reminded through the open link, [And Val-tan is a member of _which_ species?]

She's a Vampire, but what does that – ah, right. She's a _Vampire_. Sera grinned at my groans and watched me reluctantly tug at [Illuminate Psyche] where it was wrapped around my wrist. I tore at the bond between Sera and I and opened a link between me and Valerie instead. She was, understandably, feeling a little overwhelmed – as any person would be if they'd just been reawakened from a near coma. And her thoughts were preoccupied with a steady chant of [Bloodbloodbloodbloodblood-!]

That was a little… concerning. "Ah, Valerie?" She perked up.

"You can call me Val if you want, Sora-sama." The dhampir offered, nuzzling a little further into my side. "Can I… can I call you that?" She asked with a tinge of hesitance in her voice.

I nodded against her head, which was now buried deep in my chest. "Sorata is fine. You don't need the -sama."

"Sorata it is, then." She decided.

"…Are you hungry?" She nodded against my chest, so I sighed, pushed her back. Sera laughed mockingly as I reluctantly tugged at the collar of my high collared button-down, exposing the skin of my neck; at which point, Valerie decided that she'd had enough of waiting and wanted to enjoy her buffet. "Um – Sera?" I shifted nervously as Valerie advanced in on me.

Sera giggled, "Yes, Ra-tan?" She watched as I tried to push a too-hungry Valerie back so I could try and calm her before she accidentally drained me dry.

I swallowed nervously, doing my best to remain calm and force that feeling on Valerie. "Help me, Sera?"

"You found her," she said quickly. "_You feed her._" And Valerie dug her incisors into my neck, slowly drinking. If I had to be honest – it did make me feel a little woozy and I definitely wouldn't be enjoying having this happen all the time, but it wasn't _too_ bad. Although the fact that I currently had Valerie straddling me with my back to the seat cushion, her chest pressed firmly against mine and her mouth on my neck wasn't too much of a perk. My current body _did_ belong to a teenager after all, so hormones were a bit of a problem… like the one I was currently sporting now. Having Valerie drink from me was a strangely erotic feeling.

Sera was laughing out right now, "Have a little problem there, Ra-tan?" Her gaze was locked a little too tight on my crotch for my liking. "You're a lot bigger than I thought you'd be…"

Valerie pulled away from me, an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry," she said, licking at the wound to consume the last few leaking drops of blood; her thirst for my blood apparently sated. "I just uh, couldn't help it."

"It's fine," I tried to smile reassuringly, even as I eased her off of me and made sure that they couldn't focus too long on my… little problem. Sera was in the background and taking pictures of the sight – to my dismay. You would really think that I'd have enough control over my hormones by now; considering she liked to walk around naked after baths – and crawling into my beds was something that Sera apparently enjoyed. Because, why not? It was DxD. "Just… ask next time, okay Valerie?"

She smiled brightly and nodded, burying her face back into my neck once she'd managed to crawl back into my lap. I flushed and prepared for the pain, but found that she was simply nuzzling into the space instead. "Thank you, Sorata."

I managed a small smile when she pulled back. "A-Ah, you're welcome, Valerie."

She pouted, "You can call me Val, Sorata-san."

"We'll get there – and drop the -san."

* * *

Following my little trip out of the Underworld, Sera decided that I was apparently _not_ ready to go public and promptly locked me and Valerie up in the manor for three months. Apparently, revealing as massive as a secret as the potential return of a man as dangerous as Rizevim Lucifer and then bringing a Longinus home was not appropriate behaviour for one of her servants. Although, I supposed that it made sense for her to shut me in – considering that I now had the delightful threat of Rizevim coming after Valerie again looming over my head.

And speaking of Valerie – she had reached a semi-permanently fixed state. That said, she was still a little weak and she was adamantly refusing to even summon [Sephirot Graal] because she was too afraid of being stuck in a vegetable-like state. She was understandably dealing with some issues; potentially PTSD. That said, on that point, a few years of being dead to the world made her act a little younger than she actually was. Which meant that I had a thirteen-year-old in a sixteen-year-olds body. And she was _extremely_ attached to me. I could only thank God – ow – that she hadn't started calling me Onii-chan. She _had_, however, taken to calling Sera Onee-chan, which made her unbelievably happy but for me, it was just a little awkward to watch.

"Sorata," Valerie tried, sneaking into my bedroom. She'd recently taken up some of Sera's more… annoying habits, most of which were immensely embarrassing. The sneaking into bed for example, at least she didn't do it _naked_. "I'm hungry."

My room was a little small compared to the rest of the estate, about half the size of Sera's – but even then, it was still pretty big. Big enough for me to have a large enough bed to accommodate Sera and Valerie sneaking in, but still have enough space for me to set up an easel in the corner to paint. An easel that I was currently standing at – halfway through a painting. Valerie shuffled up behind me, her head on my chin so she could look over me at the painting – nothing too abstract, just an old dream of mine. Sort of Alice and Wonderland-ish.

She hummed idly, "I like this one."

I chuckled and took a step back after I'd dropped my paintbrush into a ready cup of water. "Are you really hungry – now? I let you drink a few hours ago?" She flushed and had the decency to look away from me even as she guided me back to my bed and sat down on the edge.

She pulled me down into the space next to her, decidedly ignoring my eyes. She nodded abashedly. "Please try not to take too much," I begged her, pulling down my collar; which had her moving in with a grin – but she was apparently ignoring me because she'd already latched onto my neck and she drank a _lot_. She was a bit of a glutton; well, not just a bit – she was a giant glutton. And that was a bit annoying for me, especially because she refused to drink from blood bags – they made her look weird apparently – and after the first time she drank from me, she was apparently hooker. She _had_ tried to drink from someone else after that one time she nearly killed me, but she hadn't liked it. And so, I'd eventually just come to accept that I had to give my blood to her all the time. I was pretty sure that I'd _always_ have those two teeth marks on my neck.

"Ra-tannnnn~" Came the battle cry of the overly affectionate magical girl enthusiast that I was forced to call master. Not that I minded, Sera was a great master – forcing Valerie and I into magical girl cosplay aside. She burst into my bedroom, chuckled when she saw that Valerie had latched onto my neck and promptly collapsed onto my bed, shoving her head into my lap. "Hi, Ra-tan. Head pats?"

I chuckled absently, brushing a hand through her hair. "What can I do for you, Sera?"

Valerie detached herself from my neck with a point, "This is always weird when there's a third person, Sorata." She said, pushing herself back; remaining on the bed but still a step back from Sera and I; shooting me a quick look meant to make sure that I knew she wasn't done, and we'd be continuing with this later. "What do you need, Onee-chan?"

Sera grinned, "You know, Val-tan – you can call me Onee-_tan_." She pressed. "We've been over this!

"Of course, Onee-chan – sorry, Onee-tan." Valerie corrected, apparently having no qualms about calling Sera by her preferred nicknames.

My master grinned and shot up off of my lap, "We're gonna keep up your training today!"

"…I thought my training with Behemoth was complete." He still called me in for the occasional training session but about a month ago, two months after Valerie began staying with us, Behemoth decided that my physical strength was up to par with what Sera had wanted and now it was just up to me to maintain it. I still trained, just not with Behemoth; I did it with Valerie instead. She wasn't a member of Sera's Peerage, and she probably never would be, but she still needed to defend herself – just in case Rizevim came after her again. She was under the protection of a Maou, but it couldn't hurt to be safe.

Not to mention, I was eying Valerie to become a member of _my_ Peerage once I made it to High-Class Devil, as it was now; Sera said that I was probably as strong as a Mid-Class Devil so hopefully I'd get there before canon starts.

"Your training with Behe-tan _is_ complete!" Sera shot back, "But you need to learn to go full power and make all the baddies go bye-bye~"

Only Sera could talk like that, but after nearly a year and a half of living with her; I'd learned to translate. "You think that I need more offensive options."

"You do." Valerie deadpanned, coming up behind me and resting her chin on my left shoulder so she could look over it at Sera. I shot her a betrayed look, but she smiled cheaply. "Sorry, Sorata; but you _really_ need to do something other than read thoughts and dodge." That… was true. I don't like it but it's true. Reading and dodging was really all that I knew how to do. Aside from a few ice and water spells that Sera taught me – _a Sitri needs to know water magic, Ra-tan even an honorary one_ – and that was that.

Sera nodded seriously, "It's time – we're gonna turn your telepathy into a _weapon_."

* * *

**A/N - So, I decided to pump out the second chapter of this story pretty early. I wanted to give a bit of a closer look at Sorata's lifestyle without getting too stuck in his transition - so we'll be mostly skipping over that. Parts of it may be introduced in flashbacks later on - but it's on hold for now.**

**And we met Valerie! She might be a little OOC - but she'd the first official member of the harem introduced. I think it's pretty clearly introduced what kind of role she's going to play from here, but she's also started off with the first of the major changes to canon - the early introduction to Rizevim. He's going to be a big part of this story - but for a while, he's just gonna be this presence that hangs over everyone.**

**That said, we won't be focusing on the romance aspect for a long time. People may have feelings, but nothing is going to be addressed until at least the end of the Holy Sword Arc. And Canon itself won't be starting for close to four to five chapters. I'm going to be outlining the aspects of Sorata's life and hopefully flesh out his personality a little more before we move into that. And of course, we'll be introducing more of the important characters. He's a bit isolated for now - but we'll be introducing Devils that won't appear until later in the story earlier on and they'll be playing more important roles.**

**And on the topic of Serafall - I want to say outright right now that she will _not_ be a member of the harem. She's going to be affectionate to Sorata but they have more of a mentor/mentee relationship. It's going to be important to the story but it will in no way be romantic.**

**And to make it clear - at the end of each chapter I'll be putting up the Harem Lists and Sorata's Peerage. Feel free to review (I'd encourage it) and make suggestions for other members of the harem/peerage that you'd like to see. Always open to suggestions!**

**Harem - Vali Lucifer, Valerie Tepes, Xenovia Quarta**

**Peerage **

**King - Himura Sorata**

**Queen - Secret [Not Open to Change]**

**Rook - ?/?**

**Bishop - Both are Secret [Not open to Change]**

**Knight - ?/ Secret [Not open to Change]**

**Pawn - ?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD, only any original characters - otherwise, all rights belong to their respective owners.**


	3. Arc I - Beginnings III

"Sera, can you _please_ calm down?" I begged the woman, who was currently glaring a hole into the door that led into the main chambers of the main meeting room of the Bael family compound. She was dressed appropriately in a formal dress instead of her usual magical girl outfit, which she'd recently taken to having Valerie wear occasionally as well – as an honorary member of the Leviathan Peerage.

My master huffed, "I don't like that bastard." That bastard being Lord Bael – she was still furious with him for his treatment of his first wife and their son. Granted, I was as well.

I sighed loosely and ran my hand through Valerie's hair. She and I were resting on prepared chairs by the wall; with her head in my lap. She'd grown enamoured with my head pats recently. Sera, on the other hand, was pacing in the space in front of us. "Sera. _Calm_."

She gave me a mild glare, "He has a bit of a point, Onee-tan." Valerie cut in before Sera could implode; which she often did. "This is a diplomatic meeting, remember? Be impartial." She'd been getting some minor training from Sera in terms of diplomacy too; partially in case she ever decided to return to the Tepes Faction but also in case she needed to accompany me to a proper meeting.

It had taken two months for me to convince Sera that Valerie and I were ready to go outside Leviathan territory again. She had been insanely overprotective lately; even more so after she'd told Sirzechs about Rizevim having a portion of [Sephirot Graal]. But she had eventually relented, and Valerie and I had jumped at the opportunity to be around people again. That said, she was only allowing us to leave because she wanted me to introduce myself, as an official member of her Peerage, to the leaders of the 72 Pillars now that she thought I was ready. And we were starting with the Bael family. As Sera's [Bishop] I had certain responsibilities to the Underworld and now that I was ready, she wanted me to be prepared to fulfill them. And of course, Sera decided that we needed a babysitter, so she had to come with us.

And she was being a _real_ pain about it. "Mou! Can't we just go home!"

"This was your idea, Sera." I reminded her, allowing her to jump into the seat on my opposite side; leaving me sandwiched between her and Valerie. "I'm sure that he'll be done soon." The only reason that we were waiting was because Lord Bael and his son, Magdaran; had been caught in an unexpected meeting shortly before we'd arrived at the compound.

Unfortunately, Sera snapped. "I can't take it anymore – it's been like twenty minutes!" She yelled, rushing to the door. Valerie and I immediately jumped up and attempted to stop her, but Sera had already lashed out and kicked the doors off their hinges, revealing Lord Bael sitting on one side of the room in an overly elaborate throne with Magdaran by his side and an oddly familiar man standing before them definitely. Sairaorg probably – the man was built like a giant.

"What is the meaning of this, Leviathan!?" Lord Bael snapped, "You cannot just walk in here!"

Sairaorg on the other hand was much more welcoming once he realised that they had company and had spun around on the balls of his feet to smile pleasantly at the strange scene he found. Valerie and I had our arms locked around Sera – who was flailing and trying to break free. "Ah, Lady Leviathan. It's been a while; I'm glad to see that you're well."

"Sai-tan!" She grinned and bounced over to the boy; tearing herself free from me and Valerie. I sighed, walking past the girl so I could bow to Lord Bael.

"My apologies, Lord Bael." Valerie followed my lead, stepping up to me. "My name is Sorata, I'm currently serving as Lady Leviathan's [Bishop]." His eyebrows arched in interest, "I apologise on behalf of my master's… eccentricities."

Sairaorg chuckled, "It's fine, Sorata. Welcome."

"Do not _speak_ on behalf of my, filth." Lord Bael snapped. "This is the private business of the Bael family, Lady Leviathan. I must ask you to leave for now while I talk to this… defect." He drawled. If Sairaorg was intimidated by it, he didn't allow it to show. He simply stood firm, his gaze hard and his fists clenched at his side in a show of restraint. Sera eyes had darkened from where she'd crawled on to Sairaorg's back.

The boy chuckled, "I don't mind if they stay here. Do you, Lord Bael?"

"Enough with the pleasantries," Magdaran snapped, "You still haven't told us why you are here, defect. You and your mother were banished to the farthest reaches of Bael territory – and you aren't welcomed back." He growled on behalf of his father, who looked just as angry.

I coughed, "I feel like this is none of our business, so we'll just-!" I sighed when my attempt to retreat was halted by Sera latching onto the back of my collar.

Lord Bael nodded approvingly, "Lady Leviathan, your [Bishop] is right. You are not a Bael. You have no right to be in the middle of this conflict."

"Well then, she may be here as a proxy to me." Sairaorg offered.

"And _you_ are a Bael? Please, Sairaorg." Magdaran scoffed, "You are not a Bael either, in any sense of the word. You are Sairaorg _Vapula_, just like your failure of a mother. And you have no right to allow Lady Leviathan access to our private affairs on behalf of the clan. Those who do not inherit the Power of Destruction are not of the Bael blood. Now, I've had-!"

Lord Bael cut off his heir, "Magdaran. Resist." His eyes narrowed, "Now, defect. _Speak_. Seeing as Lady Leviathan isn't going anywhere… we may as well get this over with." Good luck there, buddy. Knowing Sera, she'd be drawing this out for a _long_ time.

Sairaorg cleared his throat and looked to Sera for reassurance, "I wish to challenge my younger brother for the title of clan heir." He announced, looking directly in the eyes of his father; whose eyes hardened into a glare.

"Need I remind you, defect, that you are not a Bael." Lord Bael snapped, rising from his throne and taking a wary step towards his son. "You have no right to issue such a challenge."

His son's eyes narrowed in determination, but it was Sera that took a step forward; having detached herself from the behemoth of a man, "Then what of a wager; Lord Bael. Surely, Sai-tan has something of value to offer you in exchange."

He nodded, "My [Pawn] for the title."

Lord Bael snorted, seeming amused. "The fact that you even have a servant baffles me, defect. Why would I want it?"

Sairaorg smirked, "Because my [Pawn] is the spirit of a _Longinus_." Immediately, the room froze. Valerie inched closer towards me out of shock, clinging onto my arm while I stared at Sairaorg in mild surprise. "The golden lion, [Regulus Nemea]."

There was silence for a moment, and then I coughed; drawing attention to myself. "Did I just hear you correctly, Sairaorg? Your servant is the spirit of a _Longinus_?" The man simply nodded, looking over me appraisingly as though he hadn't actually expected me to talk. "Not the host, but the spirit itself?" I asked for clarification – was such a thing even possible. I mean, I vaguely recall such a thing; but it seemed a bit out there. Although perhaps it was only possible because it was Regulus. Animating [Sephirot Graal] would probably be impossible. It was a _cup_ after all.

"Correct," he said; a small, proud smile lining his face. "His host was murdered, but he'd manifested prior to the battle. When I found him, the battle-axe he'd taken had turned into a lion and slaughtered all insight. I tamed the beast and made him a part of my Peerage." He explained shortly, earning a proud rub of his hair from Serafall; who had once again attached herself to his back. "Perhaps I could introduce the two of you, Lady Leviathan has told me about your friend there." He said, his eyes focused in on Valerie.

Lord Bael and Magdaran looked to her as well, and she did her best to hide behind me. "And what is this servant's purpose, Lady Leviathan."

Sera cleared her throat, "This is Valerie Tepes. Dhampir and charge of my [Bishop]. Heiress to the Tepes Clan as well," she revealed before taking in a shallow breath, "And also the current holder of a Longinus – [Sephirot Graal]."

"I thought that we decided not to broadcast that information, Sera," I said sharply, narrowing my eyes. She laughed apologetically.

"Forgive me, Sorata." Sairaorg said shortly, "Lady Leviathan visited me a few months ago," she had? "And while she was conversing with my mother and I, the topic of your friend came up. She thought that perhaps Regulus might enjoy meeting another wielder of a Longinus." He offered.

I looked down to Valerie, "Is that something you'd enjoy, Valerie?"

She nodded quickly, "I think so. Can we?" She looked in on Sairaorg, who smiled at her and nodded once.

"I admit, it is an impressive feat," Lord Bael crossed his arms as he spoke, drawing our attention back to the man. "Taming the Nemean Lion was not something I expected you to be able to do, defect, and it's not something that you could attribute to sheer luck." He chuckled, idly. "What should we call you then, the Lion King?"

I laughed, "Perhaps the Clan Heir of Bael would be more appropriate."

Sairaorg looked over me, apparently surprised by my show of support. "Do we have a deal or not, Lord Bael?"

Lord Bael closed his eyes and then hummed in thought before he opened them again and stared simply at his oldest child. "Very well, defect. Magdaran, I expect you to show this defect what the true power of a Bael is." He sent a sharp look at his youngest, who was suddenly shaking.

He gulped, "O-of course, Father."

* * *

"Master!" Regulus brightened, jumping out at his master. He'd apparently been waiting in the large courtyard off the side of the compound in his lion form; although he'd immediately shifted out of it once he saw that Sairaorg had arrived with Lord Bael, Magdaran, Sera, Valerie and I in his company. Traditionally, a challenge like this was to be witnessed simply by the lord of the house, but Sera had offered to officiate and so she, Valerie and I had been allowed to act as witnesses. "Who are these people?"

Lord Bael hummed, "This is your famed [Pawn], Sairaorg? The Longinus?"

A low smirk curled at Regulus' lips. "So, he accepted?"

"He did," Sairaorg nodded before looking at Valerie, who took a nervous step forward. "Regulus, I'd like to introduce you to Valerie Tepes."

The lion blinked and then grinned, bouncing forward, "Hi!"

I chuckled, and wrapped a comforting arm around Valerie, rubbing at her head in a show of support. She was naturally a little anxious about dealing with people, seeing as the most human interaction she'd held with people in the last few years was extremely limited. Just to me, Sera, Vladimir and Behemoth. She could count us on one hand. "Hello, Regulus. It's a pleasure; I'm Sorata."

"H-Hi," Valerie flushed, shifting behind me.

"Valerie's a Longinus holder just like you," the lion perked up. "[Sephirot Graal]."

"Really?" He asked, earning a small nod from Valerie. He grinned and latched onto her hand, dragging her off and chatting the entire way, "Come on! Let's talk!"

Sairaorg laughed, "Seems that they'll get along well. Regulus has been having a little trouble acclimating to life as a Devil," he revealed, "I'm sure that Valerie has been feeling the same way. She's only been with you a few months, correct, Lady Leviathan?"

I shook my head, seeing as Sera was currently deep in thought. "Valerie hasn't become a Devil yet. I'd like her father to get used to the idea before I actually offer the position to her. And Sera doesn't have any more pieces anyway."

"I would be happy to take her in," he offered. "If she needs a home."

"Trying to poach her already?" I smirked teasingly, nudging the man in his side. "Are you sure that you're up for this, Sairaorg – what if you lose? Are you really willing to lose Regulus on the off chance that you'll get your title back?" I asked calmly. It was the perfect time to confront him; seeing as Sera was currently preoccupied talking to Lord Bael and Magdaran was busy preparing for the fight.

He laughed nervously, rubbing at the back of his head. "I think I can win – but thanks for the care."

Lord Bael coughed, "Well be beginning shortly. Defect, Magdaran; would be please move to the marked area?"

Sairaorg nodded, clapping me on the shoulder and moving past me, shooting me a grin. "Don't worry, I can do this." He assured me, but I wasn't too convinced so I activated [Illuminate Psyche] and forced open a link so I could get a read on him. He was… eerily calm, [For Mother.] Yeah, he was gonna win this. Reaching out to Magdaran told me that he was unbelievably nervous, even though he was abnormally overconfident. Probably because he was fairly certain he'd be winning against a 'defect'.

"Begin!"

Almost immediately, Magdaran lashed out, throwing a high-density bullet of demonic energy at Sairaorg, hitting him square in the jaw. He was immediately pushed back, and I watched as he was sent flying back into a tree, kicking up a small cloud of smoke.

"Now we can put this nonsense behind us." Lord Bael said with a sigh, scouting the area to see where Regulus and Valerie had run off to. "Sorata – would you please retrieve your friend?"

Sera smirked, "I wouldn't be so quick to assume your heir has won, Lord Bael." She smirked, earning a look from the man. "Sairaorg came here with well-earned confidence. He won't fall so easily." She said simply, pointing to the tree, where Sairaorg was pushing himself up and cracking his neck – seemingly unaffected by the attack that he'd probably just allowed to hit him. He'd been called the Strongest Young Devil in the original timeline for a reason, after all.

"That was nice aim, _little brother_," he commented with a light groan. "Unfortunately, I think that you need to work on your power." His stance hardened and a light silver glow coated his entire body, "After all… after this battle, you're gonna need a lot of work to get your title back!" He charged.

I blinked, "Sera, is that Touki?" I asked simply.

"Un!" She grinned and jumped to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Sai-tan has been training himself a _lot_, and once he figured out, he could use it, he called me over to help him master it! That's why I've been disappearing so much lately!" Thinking back on it, I suppose I could remember a lot of instances where Sera had been missing from the compound. I'd just assumed that she'd been out working with the ministry; but apparently not. Which meant that there'd be a lot of work when we finally went back…

"He's a pretty interesting guy, isn't he?"

Sera nodded, "I think that you two would get along pretty well, Ra-tan. That's why I brought you here, y'know!"

Magdaran was unable to dodge the blurred flash that was Sairaorg's fist, and it landed straight into his jaw, sending him back even further than he had done to his brother; unfortunately, right at them. He flew like a bullet, and I watched, mostly amused as he was sent straight at his father; who caught him with a low, disappointed sigh. He immediately released him, however, dropping him to the ground and staring at the unconscious boy with a low dark glare on his face.

"Congrats," I told Sairaorg as he walked over to us. Sera, who was grinning and jumping up on the ground. Me, standing mostly impassively and wondering where the hell Valerie and Regulus had gone. And Lord Bael, who looked like he wanted to die.

Sairaorg nodded, "Thanks."

"Well," Sera laughed mischievously; a small, amused smirk lining her face. "It seems that the Bael Clan's future is now in the hands of one, Sairaorg _Bael_."

* * *

While Sera dealt with Lord Bael, Sairaorg had decided to accompany me on my search for Regulus and Valerie. Thankfully, I'd had the common sense to make sure that Valerie had kept a communicator on her at all times; and while she was lost, she had informed me that she was still somewhere within the Beal Compound with Regulus; which mitigated the search somewhat. It was still annoying, but Sairaorg was proving to be a pleasant enough companion.

"So," I chuckled, "One blow. I'm incredibly impressed, Sairaorg."

He laughed, "That means a lot coming from you."

"Really? How so?"

The man paused, pulling to a stop. Following his lead, I did the same and turned on the ball of my feet to see what had confused him. "You do understand the privilege of your position here in the underworld, Sorata, right? You are the [Bishop] of one of the Four Great Satans. That alone… well, needless to say, you are an _extremely_ important figure here. A _lot_ of people will honour you."

They would, wouldn't they? I _was_ a noble, now – it was funny to think that not even two years ago my mother and I were struggling to put a proper dinner on the table every day. "Thank you for your compliment, then… Heir Bael." I smirked, turning around and leaving him to look after my back. He laughed, and I heard the heavy sound of his footsteps echoing across the marble floors; so, I knew he was following me, still.

"Thanks, I worked hard to get where I am. You have no idea how glad I am that it all paid off."

"I can image," I said simply, adjusting my pace so that I was walking beside him. "Sera has trained me to the bone. And none of it is fun."

He laughed, "Not a fan of training then, I assume."

I shook my head, "It's just… different. I'm not a pure-blooded Devil like you and Sera. I was just a human before, and I never had to do anything like this, so, it took a little while to get used to." I explained, summoning [Illuminate Psyche] and staring down at the bangle wistfully. "Thankfully, I had this thing. Which has made the transition a lot easier." Even though I'd really been struggling with making it work as a proper weapon. And even then, the imperfect move that I'd developed – where I delved into a mind space and tore away at it like I was reducing it to the same mess that Valerie has been in – was a slow thing to do. It took time. I just… wasn't combat-ready – which is why I had to rely on the spells that Sera was making sure that I knew. Although I preferred fire to her ice.

"Well, if you need a hand…" Sairaorg said open-endedly, "I would be happy to help you out."

A flush crept up my cheeks and I looked away from the man. That smile was honestly a little embarrassing; "I'd be happy to accept that offer, Sairaorg."

"You can call me something else if you want," he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "I don't really have many friends – but I'd like to make some more." Right, he'd been bullied most of his life because he hadn't inherited the Power of Destruction. Stupid Devils…

"How about Sai?" I asked quietly, earning an approving nod from him once he'd thought it over. "And I… I wouldn't mind that. You know – us being friends." It wasn't as though I had friends, either. Just Valerie and Sera. And kind of Behemoth – but the beast was more of a trainer than anything else.

He hummed, "I like it. I'm gonna call you Rata from now on, okay?"

"…Sounds good."

* * *

-Serafall Leviathan-

Serafall adored all her servants; they were like her family. But she really loved her Ra-tan. Probably not quite as much as she loved her So-tan, but she'd always held a special spot for Ra-tan; she had ever since Hitomi had shoved her baby into her arms and forced her to be his godmother. Which was why, when faced with the choice – resurrecting her precious friend or her little Ra-tan, Serafall took less than a second to make her choice.

She could only pick one, so, she did what Hitomi would have wanted. She saved Ra-tan and brought him into her care without a second thought.

If she had to resurrect him as a Devil, when Hitomi had always wanted him to have the choice, then she would have to live with that.

Serafall had been worried at first. When Ra-tan had woken up and called himself _Hitoshi_, but he seemed okay; so, she let it slide. It wasn't that rare for people who had just gone through the transition from human to devil to be a little disorientated. And it had passed.

Nearly two years later and Sera loved her Ra-tan more than she loved herself.

Granted, only the leaders of the Pillars were aware of the existence of her [Bishop]. And a few others; like her fellow Stans. Serafall had had the position open for so long – after she'd traded her last [Bishop] to Lord Dantalion; the woman who had eventually become Lady Dantalion. She hadn't wanted Luna to go, but Luna had; so Serafall had let her and she'd never quite had the heart to replace her. That is, until Ra-tan. And he was filling the role of [Bishop] of Leviathan quite nicely; given his telepathy and general aptitude for magic. He just hadn't quite taken to Ice and Water like Serafall had hoped he would as an honorary Sitri. He'd taken to fire. But she let it slide, considering if she had her way then Sorata would not be fighting for a _long_ time, so he'd have plenty of time to prepare.

That said, he was excelling at diplomacy. His Sacred Gear was beyond useful – so much so that he had singlehandedly negotiated their non-aggression pact with the Tepes Clan and even secured one of the Longinus. Which brought Serafall to a rather… worrying topic. _Rizevim_.

Rizevim hadn't aligned himself with the Old Satan Faction in the last war, in fact, he'd gone into hiding – which had allowed them to win in the first place. But Sirzechs had always been a little wary that Rizevim would re-emerge and try to reclaim what they had taken from him. And now that Serafall had brought to him the fact that Rizevim had stolen a _Longinus_, they had doubled their efforts to find the man and put him down before he could do any more damage. Serafall was especially worried, considering there was always the chance that Rizevim would return to attack Valerie – which meant that he might be coming after _Ra-tan_.

Ra-tan needed people to look out for him, and she couldn't always be there. So, she'd gone to Sairaorg. Helped him train and gotten the promise of a favour, no questions asked, in return. He had a Longinus – he'd be useful. And it gave Ra-tan a friend, other than Valerie.

Serafall groaned, collapsing into one of the many chairs in Sirzechs' sitting room. He'd invited her over to discuss their little Rizevim problem. And Serafall was _not_ happy. "You still haven't found even a trace of the bastard?" She snapped.

Grayfia pursued her lips, setting a teacup on the table in front of her. "Sirzechs-sama is trying his best." She reassured her friend/colleague. Serafall pouted but ultimately nodded acceptingly. It wasn't as if she could do much. Sirzechs was sparing his Peerage to assist with the search, and even Ajuka and Falbium had spared some of their manpower. The only reason that Serafall wasn't contributing to the search was because of Valerie. With Rizevim still out there, the rest of her Peerage, and by extension, Serafall herself, were focused on protecting [Sephirot Graal].

"He's elusive, that bastard," Sirzechs grunted, gratefully accepting the tea that his wife handed to him. "And it's not like we can get the Pillars involved in this… they'd riot if they found out that Rizevim was still out there."

That was true. They'd kept their hunt for Rizevim as secret as possible to prevent a fear-induced riot. "I'm going to kill that bastard if he comes after Val-tan and Ra-tan…"

Sirzechs chuckled, "And are we ever actually going to meet this elusive [Bishop] of yours, Serafall?"

"I must admit that I'm curious as well." Grayfia added, "He's Hitomi-sama's son, right?" They'd all known Hitomi. She was a close friend, even if she wasn't a devil – and she'd even been named Millicas' honorary aunt.

Serafall grinned bright, "That's my Ra-tan! He's fantastic!"

"Mother was quite taken with him," Sirzechs mused. "He's a telepath, right?"

"Yeah – he's got [Illuminate Psyche]."

Grayfia giggled softly, "That must be quite useful for you then, Serafall-sama."

"He's actually the one who negotiated that deal with the Tepes Clan." Serafall boasted, earning a mildly shocked from the two of them. "He's also how we know that that bastard _Rizevim_ is still alive…" she growled, leaking her oppressive aura and unconsciously beginning to freeze over the sitting room. Grayfia's eyes widened seeing the ice slowly creep over the floor and towards the left wall; where they kept most of Rias and Millicas' pictures in albums.

"Serafall-sama," she snapped warningly, but the ice had already frozen over the pictures – leaving Sirzechs to suddenly turn around and watch in muted horror as his beloved pictures were destroyed one by one. Serafall finally seemed to come out of her little… murderous bubble and was suddenly staring at the pictures with her usual happy, magical aura – ribbons and glitter and rainbows dancing around her like she hadn't just destroyed Sirzechs' prized collection.

The current Lucifer's face took on a dark expression before he finally turned to Serafall, who blinked curiously. "…You're dead."

She giggled, "Oops?"

* * *

**A/N - So Chapter Three is out. It's quick, I know, but I was really excited about this chapter and I wanted to pump it out as soon as possible.**

**Sorata is integrating further into the Devil Lifestyle, and we got a bit more of a glimpse at his everyday lifestyle. More importantly, though, we introduced Sairaorg - who's a fan favourite character of mine that will be pretty important moving forward. He and Sorata are going to be pretty close - and he's going to be helping Sorata train. That said, we will be skipping over most of the training scenes; just hinting at his development until we reach canon - where things are really going to pick up.**

**Also, since this is a bi-harem, Sairaorg is going to be a member. Possibly Regulus too - what do you think? But Sairaorg is there for sure, and he and Regulus are going to be sticking around for a while. The rest of his Peerage won't be introduced properly until later on. Also I feel like this is important to note - Issei will still be a prominent figure and he's going to still have his harem. I would love to pull Issei into Sorata's harem, but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon.**

**Anyway, please review - comments and constructive critisicm is always helpful! But no flames!**

**Harem: Vali, Valerie, Xenovia, Sairaorg, Regulus (?)**

**And I've decided that the Peerage updates in these notes will only be present when we get a change to the Peerage.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Highschool DxD, only any original characters - otherwise, all rights belong to their respective owners.


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